Nature is filled with "good bugs", crawling and
flying creatures whose diet consists mainly of the pests that ravage
garden plants. Here is a list of those good bugs and the plants that
they like to visit for food and shelter. Intersperse these plants
among the "problem pest areas" in your yard. Remember, though: Many
chemical sprays work on both bad and good bugs. To keep the good bugs
in your yard, eliminate insecticide use in the areas where they live
and work. Our thanks to Steve Zien of Living Resources Company for
helping to match up the good bugs with good homes. For more
information about beneficial insects, there are two wonderful books
(which include the pictures below) from the University of California
Press, both written by UC Davis Entomologist Mary Louise Flint:
"Pests of the Garden and Small Farm" and "The Natural Enemies
Handbook".

LACEWINGS (Chrysopa spp.)

Beautiful little green or brown insects with
large lacy wings. Individual white eggs are found laid on the ends of
inch-long stiff threads. It is the larvae (which look like little
alligators) that destroy most of the pests. They are sometimes called
aphid lions for their habit of dining on aphids. They also feed on
mites, other small insects and insect eggs.

The lacewing, which is also attracted to well-lit windows and
screens on spring and summer evenings.

Plants that attract lacewings:

Achillea filipendulinaFern-leaf
yarrow

Anethum graveolensDill

Angelica gigasAngelica

Anthemis tinctoriaGolden
marguerite

Atriplex canescensFour-wing
saltbush

Callirhoe involucrataPurple
poppy mallow

Carum CarviCaraway

Coriandrum sativumCoriander

Cosmos bipinnatusCosmos
white sensation

Daucus CarotaQueen
Anne's lace

Foeniculum vulgareFennel

Helianthus
maximilianiiPrairie
sunflower

Tanacetum vulgareTansy

Taraxacum officinaleDandelion

LADYBUGS

Recognized when they are adults by most
gardeners. However, the young larvae, black with orange markings, eat
more pests than the adults, and they can't fly. Yellowish eggs are
laid in clusters usually on the undersides of leaves.

Plants that attract ladybugs:

Achillea filipendulinaFern-leaf
yarrow

Achillea millefolium Common
yarrow

Ajuga reptansCarpet
bugleweed

Alyssum saxatilisBasket of
Gold

Anethum graveolensDill

Anthemis tinctoriaGolden
marguerite

Asclepias tuberosaButterfly
weed

Atriplex canescensFour-wing
saltbush

Coriandrum sativumCoriander

Daucus CarotaQueen
Anne's lace

Fagopyrum esculentumBuckwheat

FoeniculumvulgareFennel

Helianthus
maximilianiiPrairie
sunflower

Penstemon strictusRocky Mt.
penstemon

Potentilla recta
'warrenii'Sulfur
cinquefoil

Potentilla villosaAlpine
cinquefoil

Tagetes tenuifoliaMarigold
- lemon gem

Tanacetum vulgareTansy

Taraxacum
officinale
Dandelion

Veronica spicataSpike
speedwell

Vicia villosaHairy
vetch

HOVERFLIES

Also known as syrphid fly, hover fly or flower
fly. Adults look like little bees that hover over and dart quickly
away. They don't sting! They lay eggs (white, oval, laid singly or in
groups on leaves) which hatch into green, yellow, brown, orange, or
white half-inch maggots that look like caterpillars. They raise up on
their hind legs to catch and feed on aphids, mealybugs and
others.

Plants that attract hoverflies:

Achillea filipendulinaFern-leaf
yarrow

Achillea millefoliumCommon
yarrow

Ajuga reptansCarpet
bugleweed

Allium tanguticumLavender
globe lily

Alyssum saxatilisBasket of
Gold

Anethum graveolensDill

Anthemis tinctoriaGolden
marguerite

Aster alpinusDwarf
alpine aster

Astrantiamajor
Masterwort

Atriplex canescensFour-wing
saltbush

Callirhoe involucrataPurple
poppy mallow

Carum CarviCaraway

Chrysanthemum
partheniumFeverfew

Coriandrum sativumCoriander

Cosmos bipinnatusCosmos
white sensation

Daucus CarotaQueen
Anne's lace

Fagopyrum esculentumBuckwheat

Foeniculum vulgareFennel

Lavandula angustifoliaEnglish
lavender

Limnanthes douglasiiPoached
egg plant

Limonium latifoliumStatice

Linaria
vulgaris
Butter and eggs

Lobelia erinusEdging
lobelia

Lobularia maritimaSweet
alyssum - white

Melissa officinalisLemon
balm

Mentha pulegiumPennyroyal

Mentha spicataSpearmint

Monarda fistulosaWild
bergamot

Penstemon strictusRocky Mt.
penstemon

Petroselinum
crispum
Parsley

Potentilla recta
'warrenii' Sulfur
cinquefoil

Potentilla villosaAlpine
cinquefoil

Rudbeckia fulgidaGloriosa
daisy

Sedum kamtschaticumOrange
stonecrop

Sedum spurium &
albumStonecrops

Solidago virgaureaPeter Pan
goldenrod

Stachys officinalisWood
betony

Tagetes tenuifolia Marigold
- lemon gem

Thymus serpylum
coccineusCrimson
thyme

Veronica spicata
Spike
speedwell

Zinnia elegansZinnia -
liliput

PARASITIC MINI-WASPS

Parasites of a variety of insects. They do not
sting! The stingers have been adapted to allow the females to lay
their eggs in the bodies of insect pests. The eggs then hatch, and
the young feed on the pests from the inside, killing them. After they
have killed the pests, they leave hollow "mummies."

Braconid wasps feed on moth, beetle and fly
larvae, moth eggs, various insect pupae and adults. If you see lots
of white capsules on the backs of a caterpillar, these are the
braconid cocoons--leave the dying caterpillar alone!

Ichneumonid wasps control moth, butterfly,
beetle and fly larvae and pupae. Trichogramma wasps lay their eggs in
the eggs of moths (hungry caterpillars-to-be), killing them and
turning them black.

The black dot in the middle of the picture is an emerging encarsia
wasp, which is hatching out of an immature stage of a (now dead)
whitefly. The wasp lays its eggs onto young whiteflies.

Plants that attract parasitic
mini-wasps:

Achillea filipendulinaFern-leaf
yarrow

Achillea millefoliumCommon
yarrow

Allium
tanguticum
Lavender globe lily

Anethum
graveolens
Dill

Anthemis tinctoriaGolden
marguerite

Astrantia majorMasterwort

Callirhoe involucrataPurple
poppy mallow

Carum CarviCaraway

Coriandrum sativumCoriander

Cosmos bipinnatusCosmos
white sensation

Daucus CarotaQueen
Anne's lace

Foeniculum vulgareFennel

Limonium latifoliumStatice

Linaria vulgarisButter
and eggs

Lobelia erinusEdging
lobelia

Lobularia maritimaSweet
alyssum - white

Melissa officinalisLemon
balm

Mentha pulegium Pennyroyal

Petroselinum crispumParsley

Potentilla recta
'warrenii'Sulfur
cinquefoil

Potentilla villosaAlpine
cinquefoil

Sedum kamtschaticumOrange
stonecrop

Tagetes tenuifoliaMarigold
- lemon gem

Tanacetum vulgareTansy

Thymus serpylum
coccineusCrimson
thyme

Zinnia elegans Zinnia -
liliput

TACHINID FLIES

Parasites of caterpillars (corn earworm,
imported cabbage worm, cabbage looper, cutworms, armyworms), stink
bug, squash bug nymphs, beetle and fly larvae, some true bugs, and
beetles. Adults are 1/3 to 1/2 inch long. White eggs are deposited on
foliage or on the body of the host (in the picture below, the
tachinid fly is approaching the larvae of an elm leaf beetle). Larvae
are internal parasites, feeding within the body of the host, sucking
its body fluids to the point the pest dies.

Plants that attract tachinid flies:

Anthemis tinctoriaGolden
marguerite

Fagopyrum esculentumBuckwheat

Melissa officinalisLemon
balm

Mentha pulegiumPennyroyal

Petroselinum crispumParsley

Phacelia tanacetifoliaPhacelia

Tanacetum vulgareTansy

Thymus serpyllum
coccineusCrimson
thyme

MINUTE PIRATE BUGS (Orius spp.)

Tiny (1/20 inch long) bugs that feed on almost
any small insect or mite, including thrips, aphids, mites, scales,
whiteflies and soft-bodied arthropods, but are particularly attracted
to thrips in spring.

DAMSEL BUGS (Nabis spp.)

Feed on aphids, leafhoppers, plant bugs, and
even small caterpillars as adults and nymphs (teenagers). They are
usually dull brown and resemble other plant bugs that are pests.
Their heads are usually longer and narrower then most plant feeding
species (the better to eat with).

BIG EYED BUGS (Geocoris spp.)

Small (1/4 inch long), grayish-beige, oval
shaped) bugs with large eyes that feed on many small insects (e.g.,
leaf hoppers, spider mites), insect eggs, and mites, as both nymphs
and adults. Eggs are football shaped, whitish-gray with red
spots.